When the zombie apocalypse hits, one thing most survivors can really use is a dad — someone to protect them, make sure they have food and shelter, and who always, in theory, knows what to do. Zombie movie dads do what they have to do, sometimes, like moms, even if it means their own doom. In honor of Father’s Day, here are five notable zombie movie dads (spoilers ahead):

Harry Cooper, Night of the Living Dead: Antagonist, bully, devoted dad. And, not for nothing, right about staying in the basement, no matter how much more appealing Ben is. Of course, the basement isn’t quite so safe if your sweet daughter has you for dinner.

Frank, 28 Days Later: Frank is the dad you’d want to have when the shit goes down: smart, nurturing and badass. Daughter Hannah had a sense of security and reason to live that few movie survivors have, at least until Frank’s infection. In an alternate ending, Frank is actually cured and reunited with Hannah — it didn’t really work, but part of me wished it could have.

Patrick O’Flynn, Survival of the Dead: O’Flynn is one of two hard-headed feuding patriarchs on a tiny island, and the father of a couple of its inhabitants, including Judy. Judy wasn’t dealt the best hand in the dad department, but she’s one of the few adult zombie movie characters to have one. She doesn’t take it for granted: it’s Judy who acts as protector of her dad from the rival patriarch and suggests his banishment when things get ugly. Well, one of the many times it gets ugly.

Andre, Dawn of the Dead (2004 Remake): A newborn baby introduces the concept of instant, unconditional love to a lot of new dads. How unconditional? Andre didn’t seem to even consider being anything but a proud new daddy when his zombified wife, Luda, gave birth to his beautiful undead daughter. Kind of shocking, but pretty sweet.

Tallahassee, Zombieland: Tallahasse is not quite right, more than a little bit as a result of the fact that he’s a father who lost his son. Who he talks about as if he could be a dog. But a dog he really, really loves.

Now go give dad his annual tie, and make sure your emergency plans in case of zombie apocalypse are synchronized. You wouldn’t want to have to navigate it without him.

So, the mysterious Mortal Kombat Rebirth film short/trailer that started making the rounds this week is not a game teaser, but a pitch to Warner Brothers for a new, darker MK movie, according to Jeri Ryan, who appears in the short. No word yet on whether WB is backing the movie, but if you were hoping that the mystery film was a game teaser, you’re in luck: a new Mortal Kombat game is coming in ’11 for Playstation 3 and XBOX 360. The new version, to be released by Warner Brothers, is expected to go back to featuring ultra-gory finishing moves.

In other news, I saw via Dread Central that “Kick Ass” star Christopher Mintz-Plasse will play Evil Ed in the “Fright Night” remake. Peter Vincent will be played by David Tennant, aka Dr. Who. I can totally see it.

The Official George A. Romero App of the Dead has finally been released “in anticipation of … ‘Survival of the Dead,'” which opened in arthouse theaters across the US last week (and is still available to view on Amazon On Demand and several other direct streaming options). OK, so it’s a little late. It’s a photomanipulation app that goes for $1.99 — you take a photo of a friend with your iPhone or use a photo from your iTunes gallery and turn it into a zombie. It’s pretty cool, but a couple of additional features would have made it really worth the money. I definitely think it should have the full “Come to Plum Island” video pitch that the characters watched on an iPhone in the movie. Hello? They watched it on an iPhone! There goes my summer plan to recreate the scene in the back of a truck on the way to Slaughter Beach. Which is an actual place here in Delaware, by the way. Fun fact!

Anyway. App of the Dead is still an addition to the coolest zombie apps you can pick up for iPhone and iPod Touch. My personal favorites:

Undead Attack Pinball: classic pinball game, with an added twist: you have to knock out waves of zombies with the pinball before they reach your gate, below the flippers. I’m not big on iPod games, but this one is a blast. $2.99 for the full version, with a free Lite version available.

Diner of the Dead: Another game — this one would be just OK, if not for the awesome art. Instead of killing zombies, you feed them various body parts in the order they “request.” If too many starve, you lose. 99 cents for the full version, with a free version available.

According to a report from Reuters, Nigerian mystic John Adatiri was given a spoiler from beyond the grave on the outcome of the ’10 World Cup, which starts next week in South Africa: Brazil will take it. The dead also informed him that his own home team would make the quarter-finals. Zulu witch-doctor Sebenzile Nsukwini has also contacted the dead in regards to the event, and assures us that there will be no terror attack on the World Cup. In other news, soccer is kind of awesome for once.

By the way, the World Cup isn’t just the world’s biggest sporting event, it’s also an excuse to dress up! There’s still time to order the Adult Male soccer uniform (the sexy Adult Female costume of currently out of stock, but there’s always the Victoria Beckham-style “Soccer Wife Wig”). My personal favorite soccer-related item in the Fright Catalog is the Plush Soccer Ball Purse: